University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Pruitt and Haulman Named Conference USA Players of the Week
10/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Pruitt and Haulman Named Conference USA Players of the Week
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss redshirt junior free safety Etric Pruitt was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week and redshirt senior punter Mark Haulman was named Special Teams Player of the Week for their performances in the Cincinnati game.
Pruitt finished with 14 tackles, a pass breakup and returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown broke a 14-14 tie in the fourth quarter and was the key to Southern Miss' victory over Cincinnati. Haulman finished with nine punts for 390 yards, an average of 43.3 yards per punt, a season-long kick of 61 yards and placed a season-high four inside the opponents 20-yards line and had two inside the 10-yard line.
The honor was the second for Pruitt this season and third time Southern Miss has earned a defensive player of the week award. It was the first time for Haulman this season and third of his career.
Pruitt is currently No. 3 on the team in tackles with 74 (50 solo) and has two tackles for loss. He leads the team in interceptions (6) and has nine pass breakups to his credit. He also is ranked No. 2 in Conference USA and in the nation in interceptions and is among the national leaders in pass deflections as well. He also has two forced fumbles as well as two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt.
Haulman has punted 43 times for 1,817 yards, an average of 42.3 yards per punt. He has placed 13 inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He has nine punts of 50 yards or more and has finished with a game average of 40 yards or better in five games this season. He currently is ranked No. 3 in Conference USA and No. 24 in the nation in punting average.
Southern Miss is currently 5-2 overall and 3-0 in Conference USA on the season, heading into an Oct. 30 matchup with TCU in Ft. Worth, Texas, on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m., CT.
